By Peter Feuilherade
This article was first published in MENA Rail News on 24 September 2013.
In the
next decade, the population of the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries
is forecast to soar by 30% to over 50 million people – and more than 85% of
them will be living in urban areas, according to the UN. Governments in the
region are spending billions of dollars on public transport infrastructure and
services, to divert traffic from roads and reduce air and noise pollution.
The
total planned investment in railways, metros and trams in the Gulf states over
the next 10 years is put at almost $150 billion. In addition to a GCC-wide rail
network that aims to connect all six states by 2018, almost $30 billion worth
of contracts have been awarded in recent months alone to build metro services in
the capitals of Saudi Arabia and Qatar, while metro projects are also under way
in Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Jeddah, Mecca and Medina.
The
benefits to the economy – including greater efficiency due to reduced traffic,
and significant cuts to travel times – are self-evident.
But as
growing populations and increasing prosperity boost car ownership, luring
commuters away from private vehicles and taxis and persuading them to switch to
public transport is a major challenge.
While
in London, for example, public transport is used for about half of all
journeys, only about 2% of Riyadh’s six million residents currently use public
transport. The figures for Jeddah and Bahrain are 4% and 5% respectively. Dubai,
with the most developed public transit network in the GCC, reported 165 million
journeys in the first half of 2013, or almost 12% of potential users. By 2030,
when construction of Dubai’s 422‑km metro and tram network is completed, the aim
is to achieve a user rate of 30%.
Mattar
al‑Tayer, head of Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority (RTA), said in July
2013 that residents of the emirate and visitors “do grasp the benefits and
advantages of using public transport means, including the psychological and
physical relief of riders, reducing traffic accidents, cutting expenses on fuel
and maintenance of private vehicles, and avoiding the hassles of finding
parking space…”
But
many factors are still impeding greater take-up of public transport across the
GCC, including poor public perceptions, heavy dependence on private cars and
taxis, the absence of standard policies and regulations and the lack of private
sector capacity to support this rapid development.
With
fuel prices in the region among the cheapest in the world, heavily subsidized
by governments, this only serves to promote the continued high use of privately-owned
vehicles.
Public
attitudes towards the curtailment of subsidies remain resistant to change, but
the option of raising fuel prices to promote greater use of public transport is
beginning to appear on the political agenda. In August 2013, Saudi Arabia's
High Commission for the Development of Riyadh mooted raising fuel prices to
make more motorists use public transport. "High fuel prices will prompt a
considerable number of private car owners to depend on the metro and buses for
their commuting," the Saudi newspaper Arab News quoted the commission as
saying. Riyadh is also considering imposing fees for car parking to discourage
people from using private vehicles.
Another
option is road tolls. In 2007, Dubai was the first city in the region to
introduce toll systems on some major roads, but surveys have shown that many Dubai
residents remain reluctant to use public transport until it becomes considerably
cheaper than personal transport.
Qatar,
for its part, has ruled out parking fees or congestion charges, saying they are
not feasible until people have safe public transport options.
Raising
attractiveness
If
coercive measures against car use are to be avoided in an oil‑producing region where the public expect
low taxes and import duties, the alternative must be to make using
public transport more attractive.
A
July 2013 report by global consulting firm Booz & Co said the convenience of passengers was paramount, and
customers wanted public transportation that was easy to access and use, as well
as being pleasant to ride. “To reach a sustainable level of usage, a metro in
the GCC should heed lessons from successful systems that have proper feeds from
high-frequency bus services and taxis, as well as ‘park and ride’ facilities
for car users. Station and vehicle cleanliness and comfort are also critical to
attract riders from all socioeconomic classes,” the report added.
Riyadh’s
new 177‑km six-line metro network, due for completion in 2019, is described as the
world's biggest current investment in public transport. The Riyadh Development
Authority has hired some top international architects to design stations
intended to be “tranquil oases for travel, shopping and dining”, to place the
metro at the heart of life in the Saudi capital. One of the stations, Olaya, will
feature elevated public gardens and an undulating roof inspired by desert sand
dunes. Ibrahim al-Sultan, the official supervising the project, told Reuters news
agency that the metro will "enhance the quality of life" of Riyadh's six
million inhabitants.
Riyadh metro to enhance "quality of life"
Some Saudi women see the new metro as offering them greater independence by overcoming the ban on women driving in the Kingdom. The Riyadh metro will include "family class" carriages, intended to give women privacy and peace of mind like the "ladies only" carriages on metros in Dubai and Cairo, among others.
The
Dubai Metro, too, plans to extend sections reserved for women and children in
carriages during peak hours, after complaints and surveys found that these were
often more congested than the rest of the train.
A statement
by the RTA in August 2013 said the number of women and children travelling on
the Metro had increased noticeably, “thanks primarily to the growth in the
public transportation culture among the public from different social
cross-sections”.
Constant
connectivity is another essential, now that technological achievements mean public
transport users worldwide expect to be able to use smartphones and tablets
during journeys, as well as receive up to date travel information via smart
technologies, on social media as well as display screens in carriages, on
platforms and station concourses, shops and restaurants.
Dr
Muna Hamdi, founder and leader of Intelligent Mobility: Future Vision (iMFV) and
ITS Arab director of research, told MENA
Rail News that the first priority for GCC public transport planners should
be multi-modal connectivity, providing seamless travel for people and goods between
transport networks.
Dr Hamdi also stressed the need for
integrated planning and regulation at the GCC level.
“The
most important step is to develop a multi-modal GCC regional strategy that
takes into account the rapid change in technology (planning flexibility) and economic
growth, as well as environmental and cultural aspects of a healthy and
prosperous society. The lack of convenient travel options for a considerable
time in the Arab region, personal wealth and the availability of fuel have
encouraged dependency on personal transport,” she said, adding that “adaptation
to the local culture user needs and aspirations” was paramount.
But experts
caution that planners in the GCC must be realistic
about how many people will use public transport. The Booz & Co report
predicts that in the light of the current strong car culture in the region and
its far‑flung populations, public transport is unlikely to account for more
than 30% of motorized trips in GCC cities.
“Even
to reach that figure, treble the current level, transport authorities will have
to do more than build public transport systems based on demand and
transit-oriented development. They will need a holistic approach based on
integrated modes of transportation, customer convenience, reduced private-car
use, private-sector involvement, and an integrated planning and regulatory
framework,” the Booz report concluded.
